One summer afternoon, a cool breeze woke me from my afternoon nap.  Opening the window, the burning sun was moving to the west.  The sunlight was warm; the clouds and wind were light.  It made me feel comfortable and cool.

Suddenly, a brownish gray image caught my eye.  Wow! I don't know when that palm-sized nest was built in the big tree in front of my window.  The big tree had abundant branches and leaves.  The birds had skillfully chosen a concealed place for building the nest in it.  If it wasn't for the wind blowing the leaves aside that made the nest visible, it would have been very difficult to locate.  Although the nest was small it was very strong.  The birds must have put a lot of earnest effort in constructing it.  It appeared as if nothing were in the nest but with closer scrutiny two small eggs appeared tucked safely in the structure of the nest.

Since I discovered my new "neighbors" I always loved to say hello--"Be with Buddha"--to them when passing by the nest.  They weren't scared at all.  They kept still and at ease.  My neighbors were a pair of gray birds.  What kind of birds I had no idea.  Everyday they busily flew in and out of the nest.  It seemed as though they were preparing for a great event.  This continued for several days.  When I passed by again, newborn baby birds had hatched in the nest.  The baby birds kept chirping and stretched out their tiny necks.  It seemed as though they couldn't wait to see the world.  The bird family was full of happiness. They didn't seem to care when sometimes they found me, an unexpected stranger, peering at them.  It almost seemed as though they weren't scared of strangers at all.

Two more days had passed and the weather began to change.  Patches of black clouds started to move in and appeared to be a sure sign of a storm approaching.  I found a rope and tied the tree branch holding the nest to the tree trunk to prevent it from being damaged by the strong winds and heavy rain.  Silently in my heart I prayed for their safety.

The storm arrived soon after.  Rain poured heavily but the winds were even stronger.  The flowers and plants in the flowerbeds were all damaged but my greatest concern was for the nest in that tree.  Seeing the tree branches bent by the strong wind the whole tree looked like an old woman with messy hair.  I was extremely worried but didn't know what else to do.

I couldn't fall asleep during the night.  The storm was still roaring outside my window.  It looked as though the nest would not be saved.  It is so impermanent.  Suddenly, I thought of myself that my situation wasn't any better than those birds in the storm.  I am just a negligible life in the great universe.  I could be attacked by the storm of impermanence at any time.  Eventually, I would not escape from the attraction of my Karma if I do not practice sooner.  Then my situation might be worse than those birds in the storm.